Biomedical subjects

S H Taplin

Publications and source records attributed to S H Taplin.

39 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Medical community involvement in a breast cancer screening promotional project.

The analysis, mobilization, and involvement of medical communities in two counties targeted for intervention by the Washington State Community Breast Cancer Screening Project is described. Principles of community organization were applied to the health care sectors in the counties, and the PRECEDE-PROCEED model was used as a conceptual framework for considering individual physician behavior. Quantitative and qualitative medical community assessment methods included a demographic study, a survey of primary care physicians, personal interviews with physicians, and medical office staff focus groups. In both intervention areas, physician planning groups selected, developed, and helped implement intervention activities targeting the health care sectors. These activities included informational mailings to physicians, training of medical office staff members and clinical mammographers, and support for a reminder system. The experience demonstrated that physicians practicing in medium-sized cities are willing to be active in community disease prevention programs.

Breast Neoplasms↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Attitudes, age, and participation in mammographic screening: a prospective analysis.

BACKGROUND: To address the needs of older women, we investigated age-specific attitudes toward mammography that might be influenced by written or verbal communications. METHODS: Attitudinal scores for women aged 40 through 64 years and 65 years and older were calculated prospectively from responses to a mailed questionnaire based on the theory of reasoned action. Age-group mean scores were compared using t-tests for eight components of the attitude measure. Score correlations with participation were compared between age groups using multivariate analysis. RESULTS: Of the 919 eligible women, 666 (72 percent) completed the study questionnaire, and 433 (65 percent) of the 666 women obtained mammograms. A woman aged 65 years or older was less likely to believe that mammography could find a cancer that she (P < 0.01) or her physician (P < 0.05) could not find, and she valued this characteristic less than a younger woman in each instance (P < 0.01). The belief that mammography involved asymptomatic detection was more highly correlated with participation in older women (P < 0.05), as was the attitude that mammography was unfamiliar, but acceptable (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Older women are less likely to understand that mammography can find cancers that might be missed by other screening methods. Communications to encourage mammography among older women should explain its strengths and familiarize them with the procedure. Communications to younger women need to consider other factors.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Conflicting national recommendations and the use of screening mammography: does the physician's recommendation matter?

BACKGROUND: This study evaluated whether women's perceptions of the conflicting recommendations for breast cancer screening were associated with decreased use of mammography. METHODS: We conducted a random-digit-dial telephone survey of 1024 women in four communities of western Washington State. In addition to collecting data for demographics, beliefs about mammography, and insurance coverage, we inquired whether the respondents were aware of any conflicting recommendations about when to begin or how frequently to perform screening mammography, whether their physicians had recommended a mammogram, and whether they were likely to do what their physicians recommended. After grouping women according to whether they perceived conflicting recommendations, we used chi-square statistics to compare the distribution of proportions of women by age, race, household income, education, and insurance coverage. To estimate the odds of their having a mammogram in the previous 2 years (yes or no), we used multivariate logistic regression and included the above variables as covariates. RESULTS: Sixty-two percent of eligible women completed the survey, and 49 percent (479 of 985) perceived conflicting recommendations. The association between perceiving conflict and mammography use was not significant. Eighty-three percent of women who perceived conflicting recommendations reported being more comfortable using their own judgment about getting the procedure. After controlling for whether women perceived conflicting recommendations and all other factors, women who said they followed their physician's advice but did not recall their physician recommending mammography were 71 percent less likely to have received a recent mammogram than were women who reported their physician did recommend it (odds ratio 0.29, confidence interval 0.16-0.51). CONCLUSIONS: The conflicting recommendations surrounding breast cancer screening are not influencing women's choices about mammography. The physician recommendation and women's self-reported likeliness to follow it are the most important factors associated with mammography use.

Aged↗